OK, I just bought one of those cheap utility trailers with small wheels, and I'm scared to use it. Has anyone made it to the playa from the bay area with one of these trailers? I just wonder if it's just too far for the wheel bearings or tires. I expect to have about 500 lbs max in it, and I'l repack the bearings before I go. I just don't want to risk it if the bearings are likely to fail on the way there. I understand fully the need to slow down. I only got the trailer because it seemed more sensible than tying my hexayurt to the roof and putting my bike on a rear rack. Am I foolish to try use this thing?
Bud

How crummy IS this trailer? Does it say 35 MPH and 250 pounds max on it?

You are thinking correctly about packing the bearings. Apply your brain to speed and weight also. The enemy is HEAT.

About bearings....
One of the primary targets of Allied bombing in WWII was the Nazi ball bearing factories. The Germans (and the Swedes) make very good bearings.
The Chinese will never even come close to winning a mechanized war, because they make lousy bearings. Don't know why, but all the El Cheapo Chinese bicycles have bearings made of moldy rice. So maybe you ought to purchase good replacement bearings. (The Swedish SKF brand is excellent.) Just a thought.

OK, so if I can get bigger wheels and new bearings I might be ok. The trailer is supposed to be highway legal. The last owner had it on the highway and didn't have problems, for whatever that's worth.
Truthfully, I would have loved to rent a trailer from UHaul. But the damn 5x8 is a bit under 8 on the inside, and I have 4x8 sheets to move. And the damn trailers weigh about 1200 lbs. I'm sure they are much more robust than the trailer I bought, but lugging around an extra 800 pounds of trailer is not enticing. There is a local trailer shop that is supposed to be damn good. I'll bring it by there and ask them to replace the wheel bearings and see if they can fit larger wheels.
Bud

bud buddah wrote:OK, so if I can get bigger wheels and new bearings I might be ok. The trailer is supposed to be highway legal. The last owner had it on the highway and didn't have problems, for whatever that's worth.
Truthfully, I would have loved to rent a trailer from UHaul. But the damn 5x8 is a bit under 8 on the inside, and I have 4x8 sheets to move. And the damn trailers weigh about 1200 lbs.I'm sure they are much more robust than the trailer I bought, but lugging around an extra 800 pounds of trailer is not enticing. There is a local trailer shop that is supposed to be damn good. I'll bring it by there and ask them to replace the wheel bearings and see if they can fit larger wheels.
Bud

yeah not nearly as fun as picking all your stuff up off the side of the road, where the undersized light duty trailer scatters it.........

I pull a lite (1200lb max load) trailer with small wheels.. The tiers blow.. I put 6ply on..They work fine.. I also hold my speed way down.. It has made the 1000 mile round trip 6 times.. Will pull the wheels, inspect the bearing and repack them..

I'm a fairly experienced driver. Never trailer-ed more than a few hundred miles, but at least I have. The other two co-pilots, not so much. They'll drive after I get off of the east coast (read CT, NY...Probably after I cross the mountains too.) The virgin in our group (craziest driver) asked if he could drive from Fernley to BRC...I said that would also be my job...

We'll pack light, but not too light, and the trailer will likely be at capacity once we pick up water.

I'm most likely getting a transmission cooler installed too.

Tires are new, brakes are good, oil will be changed...I obsessively check over my car/tie downs at every stop anyways.

Oh, we'll be driving in one shot.

I figure it'll be a looong trip, but we'll be fine. Am I missing anything?

one big thing:
does that trailer have brakes?
if not, consider, the little brakes on your overloaded neon, now, trying to stop essentially two cars...........they'll heat and fade fast.

with no trailer brakes, you really need to anticipate stopping, light brake applications way before "needed".
IF you gotta "stand on em", it will want to jackknife. It's important, in that situation, to try to stay straight. If you turn, it'll exacerbate the leverage of the tongue on the back of the car.

Don't go down the hills, much faster than you went up.

fill the tires to max. Rarely, do tires fail for over pressure, but, often fail due to underinflation.
Have a few spares.
even a spare set of bearings and races. And tools.

you're a cool dude, BMD........I, for one, would like to see you travel safe.
Running a lightweight trailer, at max. load, is pushing it......IMHO.
A few dollars more, for a trailer that won't sweat as much may be something to consider.

but, really, with a small overloaded tow vehicle, stopping is more important, that going..........

We now have a 7x12 tandem axle enclosed trailer with electric brakes. It has a maximum weight (itself and the cargo inside) of something like 8000 pounds, and we plan to load it lightly with about 1000 to 1500 pounds of stuff. I think empty the trailer weighs a little under 2000 pounds. Aluminipede weighs a hair under 500 pounds, then we have bikes, water, and our shade thing.

We are towing it with a Ford E250 Econoline van.

Do I need a brake controller? I drove the trailer around and I think I can feel it's brakes engaging, without a brake controller, but am not sure. We seem to stop straight if we brake hard.

I've read that the struts that come out of the trailer should be completely level. That I should adjust the tow hitch ball thing until it is level. Do I need to get this in the ballpark of level (+- 15 degrees-ish) or should I try to get this spot on with a bubble level in a flat parking lot?

Also, this is my first experience towing. The ride on the freeway feels 'surge-y'. There are little forward and aftward accelerations on most kinds of roads. It's fine, the van never feels like it's being pushed around or hard to control or anything, it's just not as smooth as not towing. Is this normal, or do I have something wrong with the setup?

We now have a 7x12 tandem axle enclosed trailer with electric brakes. It has a maximum weight (itself and the cargo inside) of something like 8000 pounds, and we plan to load it lightly with about 1000 to 1500 pounds of stuff. I think empty the trailer weighs a little under 2000 pounds. Aluminipede weighs a hair under 500 pounds, then we have bikes, water, and our shade thing.

sounds like a nice setup. good for you.

We are towing it with a Ford E250 Econoline van.

seems a good tow rig.

Do I need a brake controller? I drove the trailer around and I think I can feel it's brakes engaging, without a brake controller, but am not sure. We seem to stop straight if we brake hard.

Are you testing it loaded or empty? Something has to be telling the brakes to engage, so, if you don't have a controller, is there a direct wire from brake lights to brake circuit? if so, it's not ok. They need a controller to work properly.
Feeling the brakes engaging, may just be it bouncing, too.

I've read that the struts that come out of the trailer should be completely level. That I should adjust the tow hitch ball thing until it is level. Do I need to get this in the ballpark of level (+- 15 degrees-ish) or should I try to get this spot on with a bubble level in a flat parking lot?

by struts, do you mean the anti-sway bars? I'd think as close as you can get it is good, and, your ground has to be level, if you're going to get the trailer right by using a level. it's more to do with the trailer frame being parallel with the ground, so, the tires are loaded evenly, IIRC.

Also, this is my first experience towing. The ride on the freeway feels 'surge-y'. There are little forward and aftward accelerations on most kinds of roads. It's fine, the van never feels like it's being pushed around or hard to control or anything, it's just not as smooth as not towing. Is this normal, or do I have something wrong with the setup?
be cautious, if it's your first "tow". things are different. Turning, stopping and acceleration. The trailer bouncing behind you, lack of tongue weight, or, slop in the hitch system. I'm assuming it's a ball type hitch?
check your bolts in the towing system, to make sure all is tight.
and, if loaded, make sure you have enough tongue weight.
As long as you don't feel you're being "pushed around" it's probably ok. it'll just take some getting used to, towing a trailer.

That's all I can think of for now, but, I'm sure others with more knowledge will chime in.

Assuming both units are in good mechanical condition, that's more suitable equipment for hauling Stuff!

Since your trailer has a GVWR of 8000 pounds, it has brakes by law. The California Vehicle Code requires brakes on any trailer with a GVWR of 3000 pounds or more. (1500 pounds for camping trailers.)

So... you are required by law to have a functioning brake controller in the tow vehicle. You are also going to be up around 3000 pounds or more on your trip, so you are required to have a functioning brake controller by common sense.

Sorry, the trailer is NOT applying its brakes by telepathy. The only way the brakes can come on by themselves is thru some electrical malfunction. The first possibility that comes to mind is the emergency application device. This is a switch on the trailer with a thin chain or steel cable that connects to the tow vehicle. If the hitch comes apart, the chain or cable pulls on the switch and the brakes come on, stopping the runaway trailer. This little chain/cable should have plenty of slack.

Also, there is a battery on the trailer, to energize the brakes in case of runaway. Make sure this battery is in good condition and that the wiring keeps it charged from the tow vehicle.

It is normal to feel quite a bit of tugging and pushing and showing around from the trailer. You may even feel some "pogo stick" motion. Probably seems scary the first time. Make sure the van has good suspension dampers ("shocks").

The draw bar should be close to level, but you do not need to use anything like a bubble level. This is one case where "close" is good enough -- in my personal opinion. I wish I could suggest numbers, but I go by eye-ball. The van probably has a "receiver hitch" -- a 2 " square hole? You can buy ball mounts of different height to install in that receiver.

So... off to the shop for a brake controller for you. I hear good things about the Prodigy. Installation is much easier these days -- compared with the old days when brake controllers were plumbed into the hydraulic circuit.

I urge everyone inexperienced with this to read a book or two about towing.
It is unlikely this board can cover everything and towing is not a casual thing to do.

I also want to disagree with the notion that a trailer has to be heavy.
My utility trailer can be picked up by two people, but can carry as much as the frame will stand.
But it is true that most trailers aren't like this.
Mine is based on a subaru station wagon and uses 13" rims.
I built it for towing with a roadster weighing less than 2000 pounds.

There are superb light manufactured trailers too.
I know of a trailex for sale at a very cheap price, if anyone wants first class.
Lowering trailer weight allows more safe towing capacity, so it can pay for itself.
Trailex are extruded aluminum trailers.

I just towed my trailer with 4' by 12' steel frames strapped to the top of the trailer, and overhanging everywhere.
I have five more to move, but didn't want to push it.
Without the trailer loaded, there was some sway, but not bad.
If I adjusted the springing, I could eliminate that.
This was an 80 mile highway trip.

Yes, you should definitely wear a seatbelt while riding a two-ton tricycle on a trailer.

Thanks for your help everyone. I just ordered a brake controller. For some reason I thought that the brake controller just added additional brains to the brakes, but that they would still work without one.

Just a theory -- I do not know -- but I would guess that if you hook up 12 Volts directly from your stop lights, the trailer brakes would lock up. Again, just guessing. Might be fun to try -- with some junk tires.

We have an Equal-i-zer weight distributing hitch with sway bars--but our trailer is 9' tall and weighs as much as our Yukon which tows it. It's saved our behinds more than once--most recently when we drove 200 miles with the nut missing from the hitch ball... When we just had a closed trailer, we didn't bother with it, and were fine.

I was referring to anti-sway bars on the tow vehicle or trailer, but it is true that some companies refer to the equalizer this way.
I think it is misleading, though that is sometimes part of the function.
I have friction dampers on my large hitch.
I think they are intended to act in emergencies.
Anti-sway bars are in use every time the vehicle leans past a certain point.

Sway should be under control before the hitch gets involved, in my opinion.

Folks, we have been nibbling at it, but I don't think we have presented a clear understanding of the various Gadgets that may be referred to as "sway thingies".

Practically all automobiles and light trucks have a "sway bar" or "anti-sway bar" as an integral part of the front suspension. Many also have one in the rear suspension. Their purpose is to keep the car from leaning onto the door handle in turns. These can, in many cases depending on model of car, be upgraded to stiffer ones. Race cars have very stiff anti-sway bars. Stiffer anti-sway bars are also beneficial for cars/trucks that carry heavy loads or tow a trailer. Unless you crawl under the car, you never see these.

When it comes to towing a trailer, there is an accessory most commonly known as a "load leveling hitch". This is a trailer hitch that incorporates two bars of spring steel that run alongside the tongue of the trailer. At the rear, they are attached to the trailer tongue with short lengths of chain. These spring bars are readily visible. Their purpose is to transfer weight from the rear of the car to the front. This is something you might have forgotten from high school physics class, under "leverage". But try to visualize that the weight on the trailer hitch is pushing down on the car at the very rear-most point. The car then pivots around the rear axle, and weight if lifted off the front axle. Not good for handling. The load leveling hitch transfers weight onto the front of the car, restoring the front-to-rear balance of the car.

Somebody quicker than I on the interweb picture stuff will probably soon post pictures.

Well, they say it does, but I can't remember the details of them and the site isn't much help.
Do they mean wigwagging or sway, for instance?

Even if it can, it is inferior to not having sway by stopping it at the suspension.
And yes, trailers benefit from an anti-sway bar too.
Some with torsion springing, act as an anti-sway bar.
That is how my subaru trailer operates.